What LCD TV would you buy today?

[pwrshift]

I want to get a new bedroom LCD widescreen and hook it up to my Bose speaker system and place it over the fireplace on the mantel, not built in or on a wall mount.

Looking at the models and brands it is very confusing now ... refresh rates, inputs, HDMI, 1080p, etc. Also confusing is that there is still a very wide variance in pricing for all the sizes ... I guess because of the differences. I would thing 40 or 42" would be the max as the depth with stand is limited. I'm not too worried about price but don't understand why some 40" are more than some larger than 50"

What would you buy today?

Brian

 

[tlwmkw]

We recently bought a Sony 46 inch XBR4 and like it very much. We went to Crutchfield and had a very good salesman and he showed us lots of models and discussed pros and cons. We got the Sony because it has the 120 hz refresh rate which gives a much clearer picture. We got LCD because there is a wall of windows in our family room and otherwise there would be a glare. The XBR5 had a strange, shiny frame around the screen and we didn't like that.

 

[pcgirl54]

Brian,
We went back and forth about this for a year or more LCD vs Plasma ,720 vs 1080 and all the variables. It is also for our bedroom. Pioneer Kuro 42 -50 inch 1080 is rated as one of the tops for Plasma top (about $4000 last year/ superb color and picture and I will agree that it is a real Wow factor over all else but I did not want to spend 4k. If money were not a factor I would own one right now.

After research we thought we were going to buy a 42inch Panasonic TH-42PZ700U which is a highly rated plasma but after seeing the picture it in 3 stores or more on more than one occasion and comparing to other brands we bought a 32 " Sharp Aquos 720 LCD.

Sharp Aquos clearly had the best pic of all the sets in every store we visited. Settings and store lighting and the amount of light in the room where you will watch TV can effect what you see and just like timeshares so does what the salesperson tells you. As is the real use of 1080 vs 720.

You should get a lot of input on the board. You may want to read info on CNET. http://reviews.cnet.com/televisions


We have had it for 6 months and I just am very happy with it. DH does a lot of research and originally wanted a plasma but after looking a lot we went LCD.

 

[Kozman]

LCD vs. Plasma

I ended up buying a Vizio 52" LCD and have been happy with it. The price was right and I didn't notice any big diference in the picture quality vs. the other more expensive brands. However, I ruled out a plasma tv due to the mirror like quality of the screen. If you have a bright window in the background, you'll likely be annoyed as well.

 

[capjak]

I assume you have HD signal coming in from cable and/or satelite to take advantage of 1080P, if not than you picture will not be as good as what they show you in the showrooms which are all HD signal.

Of course your DVDs will look good.

We purchased the SONY Bravia 52 inch. It is great.

 

[Kal]

LCD's do ont like external sources of heat. I would be very, very careful by exposing the screen to any heat from the fireplace.

I would go Here for extremely good reviews of any HDTV brand.

 

[pwrshift]

Thanks Kal ... it's a working wood-burning fireplace but I haven't used it in years, but the warning is appreciated. I have a 32" now but sit about 20 feet from it so it's really too small for this large bedroom...that's why I felt 40" or a little more might be better. Can't believe the price here of the Sony XBR4 40" -- is it really worth the premium? $2800 here in Canada!

Brian

 

[LisaH]

I have a 37" Sharp Aquos in my bedroom and have been very happy with it...We bought it over a year ago.

 

[chrisnwillie]

I have a 37" Sharp Aquos in my bedroom and have been very happy with it...We bought it over a year ago.

I have a 42" one and love it....it's in our bedroom mounted on the wall and the picture is awesome!

 

[Glynda]

Sony

Recently bought two 32 inch Sony XBRs, one a 1080p and the other 720p. Not really any difference in them that I can tell so far. Really like them though.

 

[Kal]

For me I did considerable research and purchased a 47" Sharp Aquos. It is really a very nice product. Remember there is junk on the market and it's up to you to recognize those goods. If the price is too good to believe, you're correct.

If you spend a lot of time watching TV in the bedroom, then definitely look for a fairly large screen. A 32" screen is probably not going to make you happy over the long term.

 

[LUVourMarriotts]

Have you considered projection? If the room is that large and you are 20' away, projection may work best. I have a coworker who has a very large master bedroom and he decided to go with projection in there. He loves it. His viewing image is almost 10' wide.

How did he do it? He has his cable box sitting on a bureau. The output goes to a second wall jack. That second wall jack run behind the wall up to the attic and then over to the location of the projector. Pretty sweet install.

 

[mlsmn]

32 inch Sharp Aquos has been great.

 

[MOXJO7282]

Sony XBRs to me are the best. I have a 40" XBR4 and the picture quality is the best that I saw IMHO, comparing all those on the market when I bought 4 months ago. Watching a Blu Ray DVD is especially vivid. They are also the most expensive.

Regards.
Joe

 

[KCI]

Here's a thought that most are not aware of. Buy a digital HDTV that has a remote control with a decimal point near the numbers. Mine is a Sony 42" LCD and when I run the start up program to search for channels the TV finds way more channels then the basic 78 I get from Time Warner. It finds them somewhere. I don't know if it's from the internal antenna or whether TW stores them there to be opened by a converter box (which I don't have). After you run the auto channel program look through the extra ones to see if they are of any value. Some may be Special sports programs or HD channels you aren't paying for. The channel number could be like 107.135 or 568.12. If you have the decimal point on the remote you can go directly back to that channel. We can see several local channels in HD that come in as analog in the basic 78. I've talked to others that have found the same thing, but not many remotes come with a decimal point, so check.

 

[mas]

Don't know your situation, but if you use both cable signals and over the air digital signals then a set that has two coaxial (F59 connectors) inputs, such as Samsung sets would be a plus.

I have basic cable but do not rent a set top box from the cable company(cable signal goes straight to the TV). I also receive over the air digital HDTV signals from the local stations (actually some of the best HDTV signals). I can't use a splitter to combine the cable source and the over the air signals from my outside antenna as they interfere with each other. Since I don't have a set with two coaxial inputs, I have to use a separate set top box for the over the air signals and input them via either RGB component input or HDMI input. Having a set with two inputs would eliminate the need for the set top box. Of course if you have a cable box from your cable company this isn't an issue as they will re-assign the local HDTV station signals on different channels that the set top box can receive.